Article stacking apparatus



April 7, 1959 J. w. KEPHART, JR

ARTICLE STACKING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 19, 1954 AINVENHJR. JOHN W. KEPHART ,JR.

KWSA

ATTORNEYS April 7, 1959 J. w. KEPHART, JR 2,881,000

' ARTICLE STACKING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 19, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 52Fig.2

INVENTOR. JOHN W. KEPHART, JR.

Wyn-xx ATTORNEYS J. W. KEPHART, JR

ARTICLE STACKING APPARATUS April 7, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 19,1954 INVENTOR. JOHN W. KEPHART, JR.

ATTORNEYS April 7, 1959 J. w. KEPHART, JR 2,881,000

ARTICLE STACKING APPARATUS v Filed Aug. 19, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR. JOHN w. KEPHART, JR.

,WQflAK ATTORNEYS United States Patent" ARTICLE STACKING APPARATUS JohnW. Kephar.t-,Jr., Merion Station, Pa.

Application August 19, 1954, Serial No. 450,934

19' Claims. (Cl. 271-68) This invention relates. to article stackingapparatus and more particularly to apparatus for stacking sheetsofmaterial which are received in generally horizontal motion and which areto be stacked one upon the other in piles containing counted numbers ofsheets having selected sides turned upwardly.

' In the embodiment of the invention disclosed herein the invention isapplied to the stacking of roofing shingles. While the invention isparticularly applicable to stacking roofing shingles, it will be evidentthat. the invention may be applied to the stacking of various othertypes of articles.

In the manufacture of roofing shingles the finished shingles are cutfrom a strip of moving material and accelerated so as to provide spacingbetween the successive shingles which are, carried by a suitableconveyor' in the direction of their longitudinal axes. The shinglesgenerally measure approximately 36" x 12" and weigh approximately 2.7pounds each. The shingles are frequently delivered at a rate ofapproximately 18.0 shingles. a minute and are delivered immediatelyfol-,- lowing their manufacture and thus are quite hot and flexible,their temperature being such as to, necessitate their being handled onlyby persons wearing gloves. The shingles are customarily packaged inbundles containing 28 or 24 shingles, more specifically the, shinglesare packaged in two successive packages each containing 28 shingles andthe next successive package con.- taining, 24 shingles in order that.each three successive packages will contain a total of 80 shinglesforming what is known in the trade as a square. It will be evident fromthese. figures that in order for an operator to receive these shinglesas delivered from the manufacturing process it is necessary that 6packages of shingles. weighing approximately 430. pounds be handled eachminute. It will be evident that this presents an extremely difiicultphysical operation and, that the physical operation is made even moredifficult by the fact that shingles must be counted out into thesepackages at this rate of production.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to pro,- vide apparatusfor receiving the shingles as delivered from the manufacturing processand, for stacking the shingles in counted bundles.

A further difiiculty arises in packaging articles. such as shingles forthe reason that shingles, which are gen.- erally formed of an asphalticmaterial, are provided over only a portion of one surface in atransverse direction with a deposit of, gravel or similar material.Inasmuch as this material does not extend over the entire surface of theshingle it is desirable, in each of the pack.- ages mentioned above,that half of the shingles in'the package be turned with the gravel sideup and the other half of the shingles'i'n the package be armed with thegravel sidedown so that the package is of approximately the same heightor thickness along both of its longitudinal edges. It will be apparentfrom the figures noted above that if an operator were required toreceive 12 2,881,000 Patented Apr. 7,. 1959 ice shingles and. deposit,them with one face or side turned upwardly and then to receive the next12 shingles and deposit them with the. other side turned upwardly, itwould add materially to the. handling problem already reviewed.

It, is, therefore, a further object of the invention to provide articlestacking apparatus by which sheet articles may be stacked in stacks inwhich a predetermined number of the articles in each stack are turned,with one face up. and the remaining articles on the stack are turnedwith the opposite face. up.v

In brief it is the broad object of the invention to provide means forreceiving, turning and stacking predetermined numbers of articles andfor delivering successive stacks of. articles from the stackingapparatus.

These and other objects of the invention willbecome apparent from thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Figure l. is a perspective view of a stacking apparatus embodying theinvention;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic showing of the pneumatic and electricalcontrol systems involved;v

Figure 3 is, a perspective view of a portion of the apparatus shown inFigure l showing an alternative form of'the invention;

Figure. 4 is a vertical section through a portion of the apparatus shownin Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a vertical section through a fragmentary portion oftheapparatus shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is the showing of the apparatus shown. in Figure 5 in analternative position;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a portion of. the apparatus shown inFigure 1, including an alternative embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 8' is the vertical section through a, fragmentary portion of theapparatus shown in Figure 7.

In Figure 1 there is shown an upper conveyor 2 and a lower conveyor 4betweenv which shingles 6' are carried. The shingles are delivered fromthe conveyors 2 and 4 to a chute & extending in a downwardly inclineddirection, then terminating in a generally horizontally extendingportion 9. Adjacent to the lower end of the chute 8 -9 is a rectangularchamber 10 provided by an enclosure formed by side panels 12 and end.panels 13'. The horizontal rectangular dimension of the chamber 10 isselected to be somewhat in excess of the. rectangular dimension of theshingles being stacked.

The chute 8--9 is provided over substantially its entire surface withspaced perforations 14. The output of .a. blower I6 is directed. tothese perforations by means of a suitable duct 18v connecting the blowercasing to the underside of the chute 8- 9. Thus, air jets, aremaintained above the perforation 14 tending to float the shingles 6 intheir passage from the conveyors 2 and v4 to the chamber 10 whereintheir longitudinal motion is arrested by engagement, of their leadingedges with the enclosure end panel 13 and they are free to dropdownwardly in response to the force of gravity and/or air pressure. Thelower portions of one of the panels of the chamber is curved asindicated at 20, and the shingles falling within the chamber 10 willfall upon this curved panel 20 which forms achute and serves, to deliverthe shingles to a lower chamber 22 provided within a lower enclosureformed by panels 24 and 25. It willhe evident that the arrangementthus'far described causes shingles positioned horizontally to falldownwardly within the lower chamber 22 and that the shingles fallingwithin the chamber 22 will have the same side turned upwardly as theshingles passing out from the conveyors 2 and 4'.

A'plurality of fingers 26 are mounted onsuitable guide means, not shown,externally of and adjacent to the side panel 12 opposite to the curvedpanel 20. The panel is provided with openings through which the fingersmay chamber. The length of the fingers and the length of the operatingstrokes .of the cylinder assemblies 28 are selected so as to extend thefingers into the upper chamberlO for a distance of, for example,approximately one quarter of the'wa'y across the chamber when thecylinder assemblies 28 are extended and to completely retract thefingers 26 from the chamber 10 when the cylinder assemblies arecontracted; The elevation of the horizontal row of fingers 26 isselected to be sufiiciently below the discharge end of the conveyor 8-9in order to avoid any possibility of the leading edges of: any of thearticles entering the chamber 10 engaging the fingers 26 and becomingjammed thereon.

Two enclosures 32 and 34 are positioned above the upper chamber 10 andextend longitudinally for the length of the chamber inside by siderelation. Each of theenclosures is provided in its lower wall withlongitudinally extending rows of bores 36 and 38 respectively. As willbe hereinafter described in detail, when the fingers 26 are retractedair is supplied to the chamber the lower fingers 48 and 60 are extendinginto the lower chamber 22 and may be of such length to substantiallymeet at the center of the space within the chamber. It will also beevident that if both of the cylinder assemblies 52 and 62 are extended,the upper fingers 44 and 58 will substantially meet at the center of thechamber 22 and the fingers 48 and 60 will be drawn completely clear ofthe chamber.

By means of. this arrangement shingles dropping within the lowerenclosure 22 can be first accumulated on the fingers 44 and 58 which areat that time positioned inwardly within the enclosure and after apredetermined period of time has elapsed the cylinders 52 and 62 may beactuated retracting the fingers 44 and 58 and inserting the fingers 48and 60 thereby dropping the accumulated group of shingles from the upperfingers to the lower fingers, in which position the shingles are helduntil a predetermined number has been accumulated and then 34 and not tothe chamber 32 then providing jets of air directed downwardly only belowthe bores 38 insuring .thatthe successive shingles delivered to thechamber 10 fall downwardly therein with what was initially their undersurface in engagement with the curved panel 20. When the fingers 26 aremoved to a position in which they extend into the chamber 10 airpressure is provided in the chamber 32 and not to the chamber 34 thusproviding jet directed downwardly only from the bores. 36. By thisarrangement of the air jets, the shingles can be caused to rotate asthey fall downwardly so that what was originally the upper sides of theshingles as they were delivered to the chamber 10 becomes the lowersides in engagement with the chamber wall 20.

' Afiixed tovthe edges of one longitudinal side of the. enclosure panel24 are brackets 40 each of which serves to pivotally mountatapproximately the mid point thereof ,a lever arm 42. A row of fingers 44extending horiz on tallyalong the one longitudinal side of the enclosure:wall panel25 are adapted to enter openings in the wall. 7

The fingers 44 are mounted on a support member 46 which is pivotallyconnected to the upper ends of the levers 42.; A second row of fingers48 are positioned below the row of fingers 44 and are mounted on a bar50 which is pivotally connected at each of its ends to the lower ends ofthe levers 42. A cylinder assembly 52 has its piston-rod pivotallyconnected to one of [the levers 42 above'the pivotal connection thereofwith its associated bracket 40. A similar assembly is provided ontheopposite longitudinal side of the enclosure 24 and includes a pairofbrackets 54, only one of which is visible, each having a lever 56pivotally mounted thereon. At the upper endsof the levers 56 there ispivotally connected abracket and finger assembly 58 identical to thebracket andfinger assembly 46, 44. At the lower end of each of thelevers 56, there is connected a bracket and finger assembly .60identical with the bracket and finger assembly'50, 48. A cylinderassembly 62 has its piston rod connected to one of the levers 56 abovethe pivotal connection thereof with the associated bracket 54.

,As will become evident by viewing the lower'portion of Figure 2 inwhich the construction lines,25 represents the longitudinally extendingside walls shown in Figure 1, the two upper sets of fingers 44 and 58are retracted completely-clear of the walls of the enclosure when the Mier s s b iss 2 nd 62 r e r t At t is i e the total accumulation may bedropped from the fingers 48 and 60. The fingers 44 and 58 are movedinwardly simultaneously with the outward movement of fingers 48 and 60to allow time for the, accumulated stack to drop and to preventadditional shingles from falling downwardly with the prior accumulatedstack during this time interval. The longitudinally extending walls 25of the enclosure have their lowermost edges terminating above the lowerportions of the transversely extending or end walls 24 of the enclosure;Positioned beneath the enclosure is a .tray. or cradle in the form of afiat plate 64 having along each of its longitudinal edges upstandingfingers or stakes 66 and 70. The fingers 66 are rigidly mounted on theplate 64 and the fingers 70 are pivotally connected to the plate througha shaft 72. The fingers 70 are rotatable from the position shown insolid lines to the position shown in construction lines and indicated bythe numeral 70. The 70' position is a'horizontal position, theouterrnost ends of the fingers terminating adjacent to the upper belt ofan endless conveyor 74. A pusher assembly 75 is provided with a row ofcut-away fingers 78 adapted to pass between the fixed fingers 66 mountedon the tray 64. The parts are so arranged that if a suitable wrapperisplaced on the tray 64, when the lower fingers 48, 60 of the releasemechanism previously described drop a stack of shingles onto the tray64, the wrapper is held in an upstanding position adjacent to each sideof the dropped stack of shingles and the stack of shingles is retainedby the end plates 24 of the enclosure and the fingers 66 and A pusherassembly, indicated generally at 75, is pro- .vided with a row ofcut-away fingers 76 joined together by a transversely extending bar 77and having their uppermost portions extended as indicated at 78. Theparts are so arranged that, when a stack of shingles is in position uponthe tray 64,. the fingers 76 are moved to the left, as viewed in Figurel, by suitable actuating means connected to push rods 79 whereupon thefingers 76 pass between the fingers 66 affixed to thetray 64 and theextended portions 78 of the fingers pass overtop of the stack ofshingles positioned on the tray 64. Continued motion of the pusherassembly 75 pushes the stack of shingles across the tray 64 moving thepivotally mounted fingers 70downwardly into the position shown byconstruction lines in Figure 1 and pushing the stack of shinglesthereover onto the upper surface of the endless conveyor 74 whichcarries a partially wrapped shingle away. The pusher assembly 75 is thenretracted and the tray 64 is in readiness to receive the next successivestack of shingles.

A suitable sensing means 80 is positioned in any suitable location so asto sense the surface condition of the shingles;carri ed by theconveyors2 and 4. In a suitably provided space between the discharged end of theconveyors 2 and 4 and the chute 8 there isiprovided a plate containinga. row of, openings 82. An. air conduit 84 is positioned'below theopenings 82 and is provided with a row of. jet forming parts inalignment with the openings 82. Compressed air is supplied to theconduit 84 in response to an output signal of the sensing means 80 aswill be hereinafter more fully described. Positioned above the receptionend of the chute 8' is a second chute 86 which is adapted to receiveshingles which are discharged from the conveyors 2, 4 when air is.supplied through the openings 82 and the leading edges of the shinglesis raised thereby. A subsequent chute 88 connects' to the chute 86 andmay be positioned to discharge the shingles into a suitable receptacle.It will be evident: that the sensing means. 80 may be selected to senseundesirable conditions existing on the shingles and by coupling thesensing means 80 with suitable air flow control apparatus jets of airmay be made to occur above the openings 82 at the time when the leadingend of a shingle to be rejected passes thereover thereby raising theshingle and causing it to pass over the chute 86 rather'than downwardlyover the chute 8.

Referring to the control diagram of Figure 2, there is shown a motor 90and a compressor 92. The motor and compressor may be entirelyconventional units and need not be described in detail. The compressoris connected to a compressed air line 94 by means of which compressed.air is delivered tothe apparatus as described. The line 94- is connectedto an air control valve 96 which is operated !by a suitable solenoidoperated controller 98: to open a valve in order to permit air to passthrough the valve whereupon air is delivered to the pipe line 84providing air jets through the openings 82 shown in Figure 1: foreffecting the rejection of an unwanted shingle. Y A pair of power lines100 and 101 are connected to a suit.- ablesource of power through. asuitable disconnect switch not shown in the drawings. The sensing means80 is connected to power line 100 through conductor 104 and is connectedto one side of the solenoid controller 98 through conductor 105. Theother side of the controller 98 is connected to the other power line 101through conductor 106. It will be evident that by this arrangement thesensing means 80 may be made to energize the solenoid controller when itis desired to provide air pressure to reject an unwanted shingle. Itwill also be evident that the sensing means may be positioned at anyconvenient point along the path of travel of shingles prior to theirdelivery to the stacking apparatus and that included within the blockdiagram 80 in Figure 2 is considered as being the necessary time delaymeans required to give rise to operation of the solenoid control 98 atthe desired time. Inasmuch as numerous types of sensing means are knownin the art and suitable.v time delay apparatus is also well known in theart, it is unnecessary to describe this apparatus in detail.

In. Figure 2 the turn over fingers 26 are shown diagrammatically asconnected to the cylinder assembly 28. While in the actual apparatus. asshownv in Figure 1 two cylinders 28 are. employed in the diagram ofFigure 2, only one cylinder is shown. for convenience. It will beevident, however, that actually the two cylinders 28 have their supplylines connected in parallel relation. Air is supplied selectively toeach of the ends ofthe cylinders 28' through a control valve 108 which.is connected by means of 'air line 110 to the compressed air supply line94'. The valve 108 is actuated by a solenoid controller 112. Ohe side ofthe. solenoid controller 112 is connected to the power line 100 throughconductor 114 and the other side of the solenoid controller 112 isconnected through a conductor 116 to a stepping relay indicatedgenerally atv 1'18 and hereinafter more fully described. The arrangementissuch that when the solenoid controller 112 is energized the valve 108is positioned so as to move the fingers 2.6 into the upper chamber ofthe apparatus shown in Figure 1. And when the solenoid controller 112 isdeenergi'zed, the valve 108 ispositioned soas. toyretract the fingers26. and hold them in: a: position removed, from the upper: chamber 10.

The two enclosures 32: and 34 shown in. Figure 1- are con-nectedv toairlines 120 and 122 respectively. The air line 120 is connected to thesupply line. 941 through a valve 124 and the air line 122 is connectedto the compressed air line 94 through a valve 126.. The. valve 124 iscontrolled by a solenoid controller 128 and the valve 126 is connectedto the solenoid controller 130. One side of the solenoid controller 128'is connected to the power line 100 through conductor 132. The other sideof the controller is connected through conductor 134 to the steppingrelay 118. One side of the solenoid controller is connected to the powerline 100 through conductor 136. the other side of the controller is:connected through conductor 138' to the stepping relay 118.

The stepping relay 118 is of. the conventional. type wherein a rotatingcontact arrn not shown: in the drawing is connected to the power line101 through conductor 140 and is adapted to make contact with individualcircular arrays of elements contained in the relay and selectivelyconnected to conductors 116, 134 and 138 over arcuate lengths of thepath of rotation of the rotating contact as may be determined, by theinternal connection of the relay. This type of relay is conventionalandv need not be described in detail. herein.

The relay is actuated in the conventional fashion through the solenoidcontroller indicated at 142 one side of which is connected to thepowerline 100 through a conductor 141 and theother side of which isconnected to the power line 101 through a contact 144 and conductor 143.Upon each closure of the contact 144 the rotating contact of a relay 118 will. be advanced one position. The contact 144 is embodied in theapparatus shown in Figure 1 in the limit switch 144 positionedconveniently under the chute 8 having its actuating lever extendingthrough the chute to be engaged by each passing shingle. Thus, thepassage of each successive shingle the stepping relay 118 is advancedone position.

As previously noted it is desirable when. packaging shingles to packagetwo groups of shingles containing 28 shingles and then to package athirdgroup containing 24 shingles. In each of these packages half. of theshingles should face one direction and half of the shingles should facein the other direction. Thus desirably the stepping relay 118 isprovided with eighty contacts around its periphery to which theconductor 116 is connected to the first 14 contacts then not connectedto the second 14 contacts, connected to the third 14 contacts, notconnected to the fourth 14 contacts, connected to the next 12 contacts,not connected tothe last 12. contacts thus effecting actuation of theturnover mechanism so as to provide turning over of half of the shinglesof three suc' cessive packages containing 28 shingles, 28 shingles and24 shingles successively.

The stepping relay 118 operates similarly with respect to the solenoidactuators 128 and 130 for the air valves 124 and 136 respectively,providing, air to the chambers 32 and 34 selectively in order to assistin the proper positioning of the shingles as has been previouslydescribed.

A pair of air control valves 148 and 150 are connected to the compressedair supply line 94 through air lines 152 and 154 respectively. The valve148 is connected through line 156 to the cylinder assemblies 52 and 62and the valve 150 is connected through line 158 to cylinder assemblies52 and 62. Valve 148 is connected to the cylinder in such a manner as tocause contraction of the cylinder assemblies when supplied with air andvaIve'150 is connected to the cylindersto cause expansion of thecylinder assemblies when supplied with air.

The valve 148 is controlled by means of a solenoid controller 160 andthe valve'150 is controlled by means: of a solenoid controller 162. Thesolenoid- 160 is connected to the power line 100 through conductor 164and is connected through conductor 168 to-a contact bank of a steppingrelay 170. The solenoid 162 is connected to the powercline 100 throughconductor 172 and is connected through aconductor 174 .to asecond'contact bank of the stepping relay 170. The rotating contact, notshown in-the drawing, of the stepping relay 170 is connected to the line101 through conductor 176. The stepping relay 170 is actuated by asolenoid actuator 178. The stepping relay 170 is entirely conventionaland provides selective'connection between the conductor 176 and each ofthe conductors'168 and 174, as may be desired, by the arrangement .ofthe connections within the relay.

The actuator 178 is connected to the power line 100 through line 180 andis connected to the power line 101 through conductor 182 and a switchcontact 184. A .switch contact 184 is embodied within the limit switchindicated at 184 in Figure 1. This switch is positioned to be' actuatedsuccessively by each shingle falling within the upper chamber andpassing into the lower chamber 22.

' Z.As previously noted when a stack of shingles is dropped onto'theplatform 64 the fingers 58 and 44 are inserted into the lower chamberpreventing the passage of shingles and providing a surface for theaccumulation of shingles. After a sufficient time has elapsed for thestack of shingles to have cleared of the lower fingers 48 and 60, thestepping relay 170 actuates the valve 150 so as to discharge the airpressure on the expansion side of the cylinders 52 'and 62 andthereafter the relay 170 actuates valve 148 so as to apply air pressureon the contraction side of the cylinder 52 and 62 thereby retracting thefingers 44 and 58 and moving the fingers 48 and 60 into the chamber.Upon this operation of the finger assemblies the shingles which havethus far been accumulated above the fingers 44 and 58 will drop and besupported by the fingers 44 and 60. The time of this operation is, ofcourse, controlled by the stepping relay 170 in response to thesuccession of signals received from the limit switch 184 in responseto'the passage of shingles thereover.

When the number of shingles which has passed the limit switch 184 it issuch that the desired number of shingles providing a stack will haveaccumulated above the fingers 48 and 60 the solenoid valve 150 will beactuated by the relay 170 so as .to move the fingers 44 and 58 inwardlyand separate the fingers 48 and 60 permitting the accumulatedstack ofshingles to fall and preventing the dropping of. additional shinglesbelow the fingers 44 and 58.

It will be evident that this arrangement provides various desirableaccommodations. Firstly, the arrangement provides for the accumulationof successive stacks of shingles each containing a predetermined numberof shingles. If the stepping relay 170 is provided with eighty contactsaround its periphery by properly positioning the contact elementsconnected to conductors 168 and 174 serving to actuate the actuators forthe valves 148 and 150 respectively, each three successive stacks ofshingles dropped .from the fingers 48 and 60 will contain 28,28, and 24shingles successively; An additional objective accomplished by thearrangement involving the two valves -148 andi150 is that after thefingers have been moved to a desired position the air pressureaccomplishing this actuation-may be relieved without the fingers beingmoved whereupon at. a desired time'thereafter when the fingersare-repositioned there is'involved only the time delay required inbuilding up the necessary air pressure in the cylinders 52 and 62 toaccomplish this motion and the added load ofidischarging compressed airfrom the opposite side of the piston within cylinder is avoided.

. .InFigures 3-6 there is shown a modification of the turnover apparatusshownin Figure 1 in the form of the fingers 26 and the air chambers 32and 34. In the alternative embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, there isemployed the same chute 8 as was described in conjunction with-Figureand the same enclosure 12 including the curved rearchamber wall 20. Themodification shown in Figur 3 involvesa rotatably mounted member 200extendinglongitudinally of the upper chamber contained within theenclosure 12 and rotatable on a longitudinally extending axis. A shaft202 extending from the left-hand end of the member 200, as viewed inFigure 3, has aflixed to its outer end a link 204 which is pivotallyconnected to an extended piston rod 206 of a cylinder 208. The cylinder208 is an air cylinder adapted to be supplied with compressed airthrough the valve 108 in place of the cylinder assembly 28 described inconnection with Figure 1. It will be evident that, upon operation of thecontrol valve 108, the member 200 will be rotated around an axisextending longitudinally of the rod 202.

The member 200 is formed to provide two internal chambers 210 and 212.The upper walls of these chambers are providedwith rows of openings 214and 216, respectively. The outermost longitudinally extending edgeportions of the upper surface of the member 200 are bevelled asindicated at 211 and 213. Thesesurfac'es are each provided with alongitudinally extending row of bores 215 and 217, respectively. Themember 200 is so positioned and the length of the link 204 and thepiston stroke of cylinder 208 are so selected that, when the piston iscontracted, the edge 211 will be approximately on a level with but,preferably, slightly below the lowermost end of the chute 8 as indicatedin Figure 4. When the piston is expanded to the position shown in Figure3, the member 200 will assume the position shown in construction linesand indicated at 200' in Figure 4 at which time the bevelled edge 213will be approximately flush with but, preferably, slightly below thelowermost portion'of the chute 8.

At the right-hand end of the member 200, as viewed in Figure 3 but notshown in Figure 3, there is provided a compressed air line 218, as shownin Figures 5 and 6, which enters the member 200 and is slidably mountedwithin a cylindrical inner portion 226 of the member 200 forming aportion of a divider between the chambers 210 and 212. The compressedair line 218 is provided with diametrically opposed openings 220 and224, respectively. The portion 226 of the member 200 is provided withopenings 228 and 230 communicating with the chambers 212 'and210,respectively. When the member 200 is positioned as shown in solidlines in Figures 4 and 5, the openings 224 and 230 will be in registerproviding for the admission of compressed air under pressure from theconduit 218 into the chamber 210. When the member 200 is in the positionshown in Figures 3 and 6, the openings 228 and 224 will be in registerproviding for the admission of compressed air into the chamber 212.

When viewing Figures 3 and 4, it will be evident that shingles passingdownwardly over the chute 8 will pass above the member 200 and will beselectively deflected to the right or to the left by jets of compressedair passing through the bores 2 14 and 211 or 216 and 217 of the member200 as they fall under the force of gravity. The shingles which areturned over and fall downwardly over the curved chamber wall 20 when themember 200 is positioned as shown in Figures 4 and 5 will have thesurface of each shingle which was uppermost during its passage down thechute 8 on the underside of the shingle as it moves beyond the curvedwall 20 and enters the lower chamber 22. When the member 220 ispositioned, as shown in Figures 3 and 6, and as shown in constructionlines in Figure 4, the shingles will drop down between the enclosurewall 12 an insert guide plate 232 positioned within the upper chamberand spaced from the enclosure wall 12. Shingles directed to the passagebetween the guide plate 232 and the chamber wall will pass over thelowermost portion of the guide plate and fall into the lower chamber 22with the same side turned upwardly as was turned upwardly during theirpassage down the chute 8. Thus, by selectively positioning the member200 in one of the other of the two positions shown in the Fig ures 3-6,the shingles can be made to drop into the lower chamber 22 with eitherside turned upwardly. Thus, if

the valve 108 is controlled by a stepping relay, such as relay 118, anda limit switch, such as limit switch 144 described in connection withFigures 1 and 2, shingles can be accumulated in the. lower chamber 22 inthe manner identical with that described in connection with theaccumulation occurring by the result of the operation, of the apparatusdescribed in conjunction with Figures 1 and 2.

Still another alternative embodiment of the. turnover portion of theinvention is shown in Figures 7 and 8 in which the shingles passing downthe chute 8 pass over a surface 240 and the surface 242 of a membermounted within the upper portion of an enclosure provided bylongitudinally extending walls 248 and 250 and overlapping end wallplates 239 and 241. The member 242 is provided with bevelledlongitudinally extending edges 244 and 246 of longitudinal lengths inexcess of the length of a shingle. The outermost longitudinal edges 249and 251 of the member 242 terminate a substantial distance from thelongitudinal sides 2 48 and 250 of the enclosure.

The member 242 is of hollow section. and provided with separator webs252 and 254 which serve to divide the. interior of the 'member 242 intothree chambers 256, 258 and 260. These chambers are each "adapted to besupplied by compressed air through pipe lines 262, 264 and 268,respectively. The central chamber 258 is provided along its upper wallwith longitudinally extending rows of bores 270. The left-hand chamber256, as shown in Fig.- ure 8, is provided with rows of longitudinallyextending bores 272 along its left-hand bevelled surface. The righthandchamber 260 is similarly provided with longitudinally extending rows ofbores 274 along its right-hand bevelled surfaces.

Shingles passing down the chute 8 will progress across the upper surfaceof the members 240 and 242. The shingles will be floated across thesurface of the member 240 as a result of the air jets passing upwardlythrough the bores therein. When the shingle passes over the surface 242,it can be deflected by selectively controlling the air emerging from thebores therein. For this reason the compressed air lines 262 and 268 areconnected to the valve 108 which is controlled in the manner describedin connection with Figures 1 and 2. It will be evident that if air issupplied to the compressed air line 268 and to the compressed air line264 the right-hand side of a shingle, as viewed in Figures 7 and 8, willbe raised upwardly and the shingle will be tipped to the left with theleft-hand edge of the shingle falling downwardly between the member 242and the enclosure wall 248. As the shingle moves downwardly over thecurved shingle wall 248 to the portion 276 thereof, the shingle will bepositioned with the side which was turned upwardly as the shingle waspassing down the chute 8 turned downwardly into engagement with thesurface 276. Alternatively, if compressed air is supplied to the line262 and no air is supplied to the line 268, air emerging from the jets272 and 270 will cause the shingle to tip to the right as viewed inFigures 7 and 8, causing the shingle to fall downwardly between theenclosure wall 250 and an insert guide plate 278 positioned adjacent tothe wall 250 and below the right-hand edge 251 of the member 242.Shingles falling to the right of the member 242 will be discharged fromthe lower end of the guide plate 278 with the same side of the shingleturned upwardly as was turned upwardly as the shingle passed downthechute 8.

The end wall forming plates 239 and 241 shown in overlapping relation inFigure 7 are joined together by means of suitable bolts passing throughcoinciding slots in the two plates as indicated at 280 in Figure 7. Thisstructure is provided to permit adjustability of width of the turnoverapparatus to accommodate shingles of various widths. It will, of course,be evident that the prior described modifications of the turnoverapparatus may also incorporate adjustable width enclosure structures. Itwill be recognized that the catching mechanism de- 10 scribed inconjunction with Figure 1 may also readily be provided with meansadjusting the lower chamber 22, re:- ferred to therein for variousshingle widths.

In the modification disclosed in Figure I there is employed acombination of stop means and air jet means for selectively turning overshingles as they change their course of motion from horizontal travel tovertical travel. The arrangement shown in Figure 3 has provided positionable air jets serving to induce this turnover. In the modification shownin Figure 7 there is provided selectively operable air jets forproviding this turnover. In each case, however, the turnover isaccomplished at the location in the apparatus where, the travel of theshingle changes from horizontal travel to vertical travel and by airjets and stops or guides acting on a floating or falling shingle. Itwill be evident that the invention may be variously applied and thatvarious modifications may be made in the embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein, without departing from the scope of the invention asset forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Article stacking apparatus comprising receiving means, means formoving a succession of articles of at least semirigid sheet form insubstantiallyhorizontal plane positions along a substantially horizontalpath to a predetermined substantially horizontal plane position abovesaid receiving means for gravity discharge into the latter, meansproviding a row of fluid jets extending substantially parallel to andalong one side of said path and located above said receiving means, saidjets being positioned to impinge on one longitudinally extendingmarginal area of said articles in said predetermined position and beingoperative to turn said articles over as they drop from saidpredetermined position into said receiving means to be stacked at thebottom of the latter.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said receiving means includesspaced vertically extending guide means between which said, articlesfall from said. predetermined position and in which one of said guidemeans terminates in an inwardly curved guide surface for directingfalling articles into a horizontal path of motion.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for arrestinghorizontal motion of the successive articles above said receiving means.

' 4. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said row of fluid jets isupwardly directed to impinge on the under surfaces of articles.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 in: which said row of fluid jets isdownwardly directed to impinge on the upper surfaces of'articles.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 including stop means located belowsaid predetermined position and positioned to engage the under side ofthe longitudinally extending area of articles in said predeterminedposition opposite from that impinged upon by said row of jets to coactwith said jets in causing said rotation of articles.

7. Article stacking apparatus comprising receiving means, means formoving a succession, of articles of at least semirigid sheet form insubstantially horizontal plane positions along a substantiallyhorizontal path to a predetermined substantially horizontal planeposition above said receiving means for gravity discharge into thelatter, means providing rows of fluid jets extending respectivelysubstantially parallel to and along opposite sides of said path andlocated above said receiving means, said jets being positioned toimpinge respectively on opposite side longitudinally extending marginalareas of said articles in said predetermined position, means selectivelycontrolling the operation of the jets on the areas aforesaid to provideimpingement of jets on selected areas and operative to rotate saidarticles in a selected direction around an axis extending longitudinallyof said direction of motion as said articles drop from saidpredetermined position toward said receiving means to be stacked at thebottom of the latter.

11 I 8. Apparatus according to claim 7 including means for arrestinghorizontal motiomof the successive articles above said receiving means.9. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said rows of fluid jets areupwardly directed to impinge on the under surfaces of articles. 10'.Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said rows of'fluidjets aredownwardly directed to impinge on the upper surfaces of articles.

11. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said receiving meansincludes spaced vertically extending guide means between which saidarticles fall from said predetermined position and in which one of saidguide means terminates in an inwardly curved guide surface for directingfalling articles into a horizontal path of motion.

12. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said receiving meansincludes spaced vertically extending guide means between which articlesfall from said predetermined position and a pair of spaced curved guidesurfaces below said predetermined position for selectively receivingartia cles rotated in one or the other direction by said fluid jets andfor directing the falling articles into a horizontal path of motion.

13. Apparatus according to claim 7 including a member from which saidrows of jets emanate mounted below said predetermined position extendinglongitudinally of the direction of said longitudinal motion and mountedfor oscillation about an axis extending longitudinally of the directionof said longitudinal motion, and means for se-' lectively moving saidmember about said axis to alternative positions, the selectivepositioning of said member and the selective control of said rows ofjets providing rows of'jets directed generally upwardly and sidewardlyagainst a selected side of the articles to cause them to rotate aroundan axis extending longitudinally of said direction of motion as theydrop from said predetermined position. i

14. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said means selectivelycontrolling the operation of the jets includes means responsive to thepassage of articles for selectively actuating the jets during passage ofpredetermined numbers of articles to cause predetermined numbers ofarticles to rotate successively in each direction.

15. Article stacking apparatus comprising receiving means, means formoving a succession of articles of at leastsemirigid sheet form insubstantially horizontal plane positions along a substantiallyhorizontal path to a predetermined substantially horizontal planeposition above said receiving means for gravity discharge into thelatter, means providing a row of fluid jets extending substantiallyparallel to and along one side of said path and located above saidreceiving means, said jets being positioned to impinge on onelongitudinally extending marginal area of said articles in saidpredetermined position and being operative to turn said articles aroundan axis extending longitudinally of said direction ofmotion as they dropfrom said predetermined position into said receiving means, and saidreceiving means including means for releasably holding articles droppingthereinto 12 and means for releasing 'sai d' releasable, holding meansafter a predetermined number of articles have accumulated thereon.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15 including means 'for' releasablyholding articles above said first mentioned releasable holding meansWhile said first leasable holding means is released. I

17. Apparatus according to claim 15 in which said meansfor releasingsaid releasable holding means is responsive to the passage of saidpredetermined number of articles. p I '18. Apparatus according to claim7 in which said rec'eiving means includes'means for releasably holdingarticles dropping thereinto and control means for releasin'g saidreleasable holding means after a predetermined number of articles haveaccumulated thereon, said jet control' means' and said releasableholding means control means pr'oviding stacks each containing apredetermined number of articles released by said releasable holdingmeans containinga predetermined portion of the articles having a' firstside turned upwardly and the remainder of the articles havingtheopposite side turned upwardly. 19.'Article' stacking apparatuscomprising receiving means, means for moving a succession of articles ofat least 'semirigid sheet form in substantially horizontal planepositions along a substantially horizontal path to a' predeterminedsubstantially horizontal plane position above said receiving means forgravity discharge into the latter,-means providing a row of fluid jetsextending substantially parallel to and along one side of said path andlocated above said receiving means, said jets being positionedftoimpinge on one longitudinally extending marginal area of said articlesin said predetermined position and being operative to turn saidarticlesaround an axis extending longitudinally of said direction of motionasthey drop 'fromsa'id predetermined position, said rec'eiving meansincluding means for releasably holding articles dropping thereinto,means above said first mentioned releasable holding means'fforreleasably holding articles, actuating means for 'operativelypositioning said upper releasable holding means when the lowerreleasable holding means is released and for operatively positioningsaid'lower releasable holding means when said upper releasable holdingmeans is released, and control means for said actuating means responsiveto passage of the article's.

mentioned re- References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,365,741 'Spear Jan. 18, 1921 ,2,138,645 Rey Nov. 29,1938 2,151,136, ,Mofiitt Mar. 21, 1939 2,228,901 Wilcox Jan. 14, 19412,255,522 Wilcox Sept. 9, 1941 2,517,388 Daves Aug. 1, 1950 2,605,910Kovatch Aug. 5, 1952 2,669,340 Sjostrom Feb. 16, 1952 2,675,916 Castonet al. Apr. 20, 1954

